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Chelsea are set to finally put an end to their managerial stalemate after Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed a double deal for Maurizio Sarri and midfielder Jorginho to move to Stamford Bridge is close.

The Blues have been in negotiations with Napoli over making Sarri the successor to head coach Antonio Conte since the end of last season, but had been unable to strike an agreement.

City have not given up on Jorginho, having reached an agreement on personal terms with him two weeks, although there is a fear he could have become a pawn in the situation involving Sarri.

Napoli had wanted £8m for Sarri, which Chelsea were unwilling to pay after the Italians made Carlo Ancelotti their new manager. A compromise, however, seems to have been proposed involving a fee for Jorginho.

Jorginho (left) battles with Paulo DybalaCredit:
getty images

Italian reports have also claimed that Cesc Fabregas could move in the opposite direction, but Telegraph Sport understands the Spaniard is not interested in joining Napoli.

Confirming Chelsea are close to finally making a breakthrough, De Laurentiis said: “The Sarri deal is in the homestretch, it depends on him.

“I’ve laid down my conditions. It’s all in the hands of lawyers. Jorginho? We said to ourselves, ‘if Jorginho has any requests, we’ll take them into account.’

“For that, I’ll have to apologise to Manchester City. However, if the player would rather live in London than Manchester, I can understand that.

“If Chelsea are paying him even more, I can understand that too. Jorginho and Sarri together again? Jorginho would go to Chelsea regardless of Sarri.”

Despite the claims of De Laurentiis, City insist it is not true that Jorginho does not want to live in Manchester.

Ironically, it was Conte who handed Jorginho, who holds Italian and Brazilian passports, his first international cap for Italy in March 2016.

But Conte was not part of the decision to make a move for the 26-year-old and the claims from De Laurentiis that Sarri is now close to replacing him came shortly after the former Juventus coach had taken training at Cobham.

Chelsea still need to reach an agreement to terminate the final year of Conte’s contract, which is worth £9m, but that increasingly appears to be a formality.

Securing a deal for both Sarri and Jorginho would be a huge boost for Chelsea, given the club have been stuck in limbo for some time. It would also be viewed as somewhat of a coup to bring in a player who City want, given the Blues did not qualify for the Champions League.

Jorginho was one of Napoli’s best players in their challenge for last season’s Serie A title that was eventually won by Juventus and can play in a variety of different midfield roles.

Other than trying to finalise the deal for Sarri and Jorginho, Chelsea have been in talks to sign Aleksandr Golovin from CSKA Moscow, defender Daniele Rugani from Juventus and goalkeeper Alisson Becker from Roma.

Aleksandr Golovin of Russia has been linked with ChelseaCredit:
GETTY IMAGES

There are also claims from Italy that Gonazalo Higuain will link up with his former manager Sarri at Chelsea, but the Blues would need to sell Alvaro Morata to free up space for the Argentine. Having signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, it appears unlikely Juve will follow up their interest in re-signing Morata.

Chelsea are hoping that Real land either Neymar or Kylian Mbappe as a replacement for Ronaldo, rather than making a bid for Hazard, who they are desperate to keep.

Hazard has said that he will wait to see who Chelsea sign this summer before making a decision on his future and Jorginho would be rated as a a good start by the Belgian.

Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for Thibaut Courtois, who has entered the 12 months of his contract, and want to sell Danny Drinkwater, who they rate at over £30m. The Blues will also allow Willian to join Barcelona if the Spaniards get close to their £60m valuation. Manchester United are also interested in the Brazilian.